Tone control operable successively in a predetermined manner



Oct,

TONE CONTROL OPERABLE SUCCESSIVELY IN A PRBDETERMINED MANNER Filed May5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g Tllll'lIllIllllllllllllllllllllll 15 1a 17 A0 50 .2 I o l 45 4! 4 6 7 z; 37 54 J I l 23 J2 .33

I VENTOR FIWWJ ATTORNEY 1,645,048 Oct. 11, 1927' J H, HAMMOND. J

TONE CONTROL OPERABLE SUCCESSIVELY IN A PREDETERMINBD MANNER Filed May5, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5

INVENTOR Patented Oct. 11, 1927.

UNITED STATES JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, JR.. OF GLOUCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

TONE CONTROL OPERABLE SUCCESSIVELY IN A PREDETERMINED MANNER.

Application filed May 5, 1925.

This invention relates to improvements in musical instruments, and hasparticular reference to the control of tone shading and musicaldynamics.

The principal object of the invention 1s to provide improved means fordelicately shading the volume of tone produced by a musical instrument,and thus to permit a more accurate control of the expression im partedto the music being played.

In its broad aspect the present invention relates to the use of aplurality of mechanisms for reducing the volume of musical tone operatedfrom a single device in accord ance with the will of an operator.

More specifically, there is provided a tone modulator which may beformedof sound insulating material for reducing the musical tone emitted, incombination With'additional means, such as a pianissimo action, whichfurther reduces the musical tone emitted, and a single device operatingboth the tone modulator and the pianissimoaction successively at thewill of an operator.

In carrying out the invention in practice I provide a musical instrumentofthe percussive type, such as a pianoforte, with two separatemechanisms for reducing the tone volume. The tone producing meansinclude a plurality of tuned stringspand there is provided mechanism forinitially control ling tone modulatorsfor reducing the-volume of soundemitted and subsequently op erating a pianissimo'action- Other objectswill appear'from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which F igure 1 is a front elevation partly insection of one form of the inventlon as applied to a grand piano; vFigure 2 is a section taken on the line 9 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a front elevation partly in section of a modified form ofthe invention applied to a grand piano;

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line -'l-'1 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a detailedview partly in section of the pedal mechanismshown in Figures 1 and 3.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 2, the system isshown as applied to a grand piano 10, provided with the usual pluralityof strings 11 tuned to the notes of the musical scale and mounted in aframework 12. A conventional piano action Serial No. 28.163.

13 is provided for each of the notes of the piano arranged forpercussion with the' strings tuned to the respective note and operatingby means of a key forming part of a usual piano keyboard 14. Theinstrument includes a so-called pianissimo action for reducing thevolume of sound produced by the percussion of the strings 11, and oneform of such pianissimo action selected for illustration will now bedescribed. The actrons 13 and the keys 14 are mounted in a keybed 15which is slidably mounted in the framework of the piano so as to bemovable with respect to the strings, and is normally maintained in theposition shown in Figure 1, by means of a spring 16 positioned in asuitable recess in the casing of the piano. The keybed 15 is-providedwith a notch 17, cuttherem, and there projects into this notchone end ofa lever 18 having a pivotal connection at 19 with'th'e stationaryframework of the piano 10. 'The opposite end of the lever 18 isprovided'with'a roller 20 in roll ng contact with the -camface of an operatingrod' 21. :Thecam face of the operati'ng rod. 21 includes a camprojection 22. The-lower endiof the'rod 21 is opera-- tlvelyconnected'toa controlmember such as 'a :pedal 23, whichtmay preferably"'be mounted'in apedal frame" 24'. depending from :the frameworliof the: piano uponrods 25-"and-26i-andwabracket 27 secured to theframeworkof the pianounder the keyboard. The operating=rod=21 is provided with an ear or lug30 in aniiintermediate portion thereof;"to' wl1i'ch is-secured one endof aspring' 31, the other-end of the spring: being attached to the-frame24 so"- as to retract the operating rod 21 into'the position shown inthe drawing; There are" referably mounted in the base" 24,' twoadditional pedals such as-32"and 33, which arewperatively connected totwo additional: operating rods 34 and 35 respectively and to any desiredmechanism of the piano such as the sostenuto and loud pedal action.

The casing of thepianois formed to in clude a layer 36 of soundinsulating material i.n the walls thereof, as illustrated, sothat thesound produced within the casing may be effectively suppressed andprevented from being emit-ted. The casing is provided with two series ofoppositely disposed controllable apertureseach series being positionedin a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the strings 11 of thepiano, and on opposite sides thereof. There is also provided means forcontrolling the extent of openingof these apertures, so as to reduce orotherwise control the volume of sound emitted from the casing. Theoperating means for controllin those apertures includes a roller 40mounted for rotation upon a lever 41 pivotally secured at 42 to thebracket 27. The roller 40 is in rolling contact with the cam face of thecam 22. The lower or free end of the lever '41 is connected to a link 43which includes an ear or lug 144 having attached thereto one end of aspring 145, the other end of the spring being secured to the bracket 27,so that the'link 43 and the mechanism associated therewith tendsnormally to assume the-position illustrated. The other end of the link43 is pivotally secured to an arm 44 which is afiixed to a verticallyextending shaft 45 mounted for rotation 'in bearings 46,47 and'extendingvertically through the casing of the piano.- The bearings 46, 47 aresecured to the walls of the piano casing 8116.78 COllaT-'-4:8'lSsfSCUI8dto the :shaft 45 immediately above the upper bearing 47'so asdolprevent:longitudinal movement of the shaft 45 inits bearings; An operating arm50 is secured to the shaft 45 outwardly of andbelow the casing of thepiano and a secand operating arm 51*is secured tothe shaft 45 outwardlyof and'above-thepiano casing-.- The-arms 50-ai1d 51E are-connected'respec tivelytofiipainof-links 52 and. 53 the. other ends of which.are-roonnedled'; to operating rods 154=and 55 respectively. ;Pivotallyoon nectedto .the :operating= rod 54 at spaced P:0lntS,:l.3u} luralityofarms 56; and similarly,. i ivota y-.-connecfied. to the operating.

'rod 55.-atispac-edlpoints'.there is a pluraht of-arms q57a-z Eachofotliewarms '56- and- 5 has securedclzlieretooa tone.-;modulatorgthu's. forming-1W0? sets -of= tone? modulator-$58 and P59.respectively.=.which are mounted-for rotations-ntbouh-theinlongitudinal axes, in. the oppositely disposed aperturesrespectively,and whicli;c ontrol--the.:.extent of; opening of the apertures: so; astoregulate theemission ofsound therethrough. l-

the1operati'on of theform ofthe invention shown .in'Figur'es-l and-2when the foot pedal 23,-is depressed the rod 21 is elevatedand-theiroller 40 rolls along the inclined sur- -:i faceZof-the cam 22,and-.in so doing, rotates the lever 41 ina clockwise direction about thepoint 42. Thiscauses. the link 43 to'be moved to the left,-thus rotatingthe arm 44, the shaft 45 and two arms 50 and 51 in a counter-clockwisedirection as seen in Figure piano.

arm 18 in a clockwise direction about the point 19, which causes thekeybed 15 to be moved to the right against the action of the spring 16,which causes the piano action 13 to be moved so that the hammers do notstrike the full number of strings of each note, thus producing thepiauissimo cll'cct in the piano.

\Vhen the pressure on the foot pedal 23 is released, the rod 21 willmove downwardly under the action of the spring 31 and the roller 20 willmove down the face of the cam thus allowing the keyhcd 15 to be moved tothe left under the action of the spring 16, thus taking off the softpedal action of the As the rod 21 continues to more downwardly theroller 40 will roll down the face of the cam 22. thus causing themodulators to be opened under the action of the spring 145.

It is thus seen that when the foot pedal is depressed, the modulatorswill be gradually closed and then the pianissimo action will be put onand whenthe footpedal is released the'soft pedal action willfirst bethrown off and then the modulators will be gradually opened. c 1

In' the modified form of the invention shown 1!]. Figures 3,4 and 5, thesystem is shown as applied to a-grand piano 70,-which is provided withthe. usual keybed 71:slidabl v mounted-in the frame ofthe piano and heldin the positionshown in Figure 3 by means of a spring 72. .The keybed 71is provided with a-notch:73 into which fits one end of a bell-crank.74which is mounted for rotation upon a pivot. l5 which is secured tothe framework of the piano 70. The otherend of the bell-crank 74 is inline with a rod 76 which is slidably mounted .in a bracket 77supportedbythe framework of the piano. At its lower end the; rod 76rests upon the rear end of a pedal 78 which is pivoted at 80 in a block81 which'is supported from the bracket. 77 by means of two rods 82 andS3. The rod 76 is,providcd with :1 lug S4 to which is secured one end ofa-spring 85 the other end of which is fastened to the block 81. Mountedin the hlock'Sl a.'.to t\-:o aslrlitional.,-pcdals SG and 87 whichopera? rods 90 and 91 which control the so and loud pedal action of thepiano in a known manner;

Secured to the shaft 76 is a collar 92 which prevents-it being pulledbelow a certain predetermined height. Sc 'nvd to the nope? end of therod 76 is a collar 93 upon which rests a member 94 which is rotatablymounted upon the rod 76. Connected to one end of the member 94 by meansof a ball and socket joint is a link 95 the other end of which isconnected also by a ball andsocket joint to a bell-crank 96 which ispivoted at 97 to the framework of the piano andis pro vided with ahandle 98.

.. .1! well Cooperating with the other end of the member 94 is abell=crank 100 which is pivoted at 101 to the bracket 77. At its lowerend the bell-crank 100 is provided with a hole through which slides arod 102 to which is secured a collar 103. To the end of the rod 102 isfastened a second collar 104 between which and the bell-crank 100 is a.spring 105. The rod 102 is provided with a lug 106 to which is connectedone end of a spring 107 the other end of which is securedto a bra cket108 mounted upon the framework of the piano. The other end ofthe rod 102is connected to an arm 110 which is rigidly secured to one end of ashaft 111.. Rigidly secured to the shaft 111 is an arm 112 to the end ofwhich is connected a link 113 the other end of which is connected to arod 114. To the rod 114 is pivoted a plurality of arms 115 which aremounted upon an equal number of tone modulators 116 mounted for rotationabout their longitudinal axes in the framework of the pianof jlo. .Theupper end of the shaft 111 operates a tone modulator mechanism .similartol that 'described in connection with F 1 and 2.

In the operation of, thenioditied form oi the invention shown in Figures3, ,4 aiid 5, when the pedal 78 is depressed the rod 76 will be elevatedand thejinenibert i engaging the bell-crank 100 willc ause itlto be r0tated ina eounterclockwise directiomithus moving its lowerfend tothe-rightiwhichwill act upon the spring 105 causing itgto' push thecollar 104-to the right, therebyn'ioying the rod 102 to the righti Thi'scaiises the arm 110,"the shaft-111 and the 112 t0. be rotated'in acounter-clockwise" direction, thus moving the link 11 3 'find t lie,rodll to the right which causes the tone modulators 116 to be closedf Asimil'aij;;action takes place with the tone modulators {onfth'top of thepiano. When fth tOnq iriodulators have become entirely 'clos'edi andthe, foot; pedal 78 is depressed further'ltlie bell-crank 100 willcontinue tobe rotatedfandfwillcompress the spring'105. At the same time'the end of the rod 76 will engagethebell crank' 74, thus rotating it inaclockwise direction about the PiX'Ot 7 5 This f will' causefthe' upperend of this bell-"crankjto b'e'moved to the right, thus moving thekejbed71 to the right and throwing err-the pianissim'o' action of the piano ina well-known manner.

If it is desired to operate'thes oft pedal action entirely independentoffthetone modulators leaving themflwide open, the handle 98 is moved totherightlthereby rotating the bell-crank 96 in a' clockwise directionabout the pivot 97 which by means of the link 95 causes the member 94 tobe rotated in a counter-clockwise direction on the shaft 76. This willcause the member 9'7 to be moved out of alignment with the bellcrank 100so that when the pedal 78 is depressed and the rod 76 elevated it willnot operate the bell-crank 100 but will only engage the bell-crank 74.The tone modulators 116 will therefore remain in the open posit-ion asshown, while the pianissimo action will be thrown on aspreviouslydescribed.

The invention upon which this application is based is broader than thespecific embodiment shown and described for the purpose of illustratingat least one of the ways in which it may be employed. The scope of theinvention is therefore to be understood as not being limited by thepresent specific description. I intend no limitations other than thoseimposed by the claims.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A tone modulating system for a pianoforte, comprising a tonemodulating pedal, means effective for suppressing the musical soundemitted from the pianoforte, a pianissiino action forcontrolling theinitial volume of musical sound produced by the strings of thepianoforte, a'nd means operatively interconnecting the pedal, the soundsuppressing means and the pianissimo action arranged so that actuationof the pedal first operates the sound suppressing means and thereafterthe pianissimo' action.

,2.. Atone control-system for a piano, comprising. a pedal, soundsuppressing means operable upon the initial movement of the pedal, andmeans for controlling the'volume of musical sound initially'produced bythe strings ofthe .piand operable upon additional movement of the pedal.

3. A tone control systein for a piano, comprising a. pedalrsoundsuppressing means operable upon the initi al movement of the fiedah. anda piani'ssimo action for control ling the volume of musical soundinitially produced by the strings of the piano operable upon additionalmovement of the pedal. ,4. Ina musical instrument, a plurality of tunedstringsfor producing musical tones, a casing including substantiallysound proof material around said. strings, percussive means within thecasingand movable-with respect to the strings to cause a strikingcontact with the strings, keys for initiating the striking movement ofthe percussive means, means to adjust said percussive means with respectto the strings, a plurality of modulators positioned in the casing forcontrolling the volume of musical sound emitted therefrom, and a pedaloperatively connected toimpart movement initially-lo said modulators andto impart movement subsequently to the adjusting means. i

In a musical instrument having a percussive action for producing musicalsound. a pianissimo mechanism for controlling said percussive action tovary the amplitude of sound produced thereby, a pedal for controllingsaid pianissimo mechanism, a tone modulator for varying the volume ofmusical sound emitted from the instrument, and means interconnectingsaid modulator and said pedal for actuating said modulator in advance ofsaid pianissimo action. i

6. In a musical instrument of the percus sire type, a plurality ofhammers, strings arranged to be set into vibration by impact. thereon ofsaid hammers, a plurality of keys for actuating said hammersrespectively, a plurality of tone modulators for varying the intensityof musical sound emitted from the instrument, means for variablypositioning the hammers with respect to the strings to modify theintensity of sound producedby said strings upon the impact of' thehammers thereon, and means initially efi'ective for operating the tonemodulators and for subsequently operating the hammer 'positioning means.I

7. In a musical instrument of the percussive type, the combination of acasing having oppositelyv disposed, controllable aper- Lures, meanspositioned within the casing for producing musical tones by percussion,a manual or actuating said percussive means, means for controlling theextent'of opening of said apertures for varying the i'iiten sity ofmusical sound emitted from 'th iiistrument, means acting onsaidpercussion means to modify the intensity of 'sound produced thereby, andmeans connected to actuate opening control means initially and sai'dintensity modifying means subsequently.

8. In a musical instrument of the percus sive type, a plurality ofhammers, strings arranged to be set into vibration by impact thereon ofsaid hammers, a plurality of keys for actuating said'hammersrespectively, a plurality of tone modulators for varying the intensityof musical sound emitted from the instrument, means for variably.positioning said hammers with respect to said strings to modify theintensity of musical sound produced by said strings by the impact of thehammers, a sound intensity control pedal, and means operativelyconnecting said pedal to said tone modulators and said hammerpositioning means effective initially for operating the tone modulatorsand effective thereafter for operating said hammer positioning means.

9. In a musical instrument having a pencussive action for producingmusical sound, a tone modulator for varying the volume of musical soundemitted from the instrument, a pianissimo mechanism for the percussiveaction to vary the amplitude of musical simo mechanism until themodulator has been actuated.

10. A tone modulating system [or a pia'n'otort'e comprising a tonemodulating' pedal, means ell'ective for'suppressing the musical soundemitted from the piauolorte, a pianissimo action for controlling the initial volume of musical sound produced by the strings of the pianoforteand means operati vely interconnecting the pedal, the sound suppressingmeans'an'd the pianissimo action arranged to render said pedalinetl'ectzve foractuating said sound suppressing means] i @Aftonecontrol system for a piano comprising a; pedal, sound suppressing meansoperable upon movement of the pedal, means independently operable uponmove meat of the pedal for controllin the volume of musical soundinitially prod uced bv the strings of the piano and' means for renderingsaidsound'suppi 'essing means inactive with respect to; movement of thepedal..

"-121A1toii"control system for a piano QQmP 1$l g. edelmsa nd uppmeanspperable upon moven' ent of the pedal, a1 pianissimo action' forcontrolling the volumeof musical'sound initially produced by thestringsof ,the piano, and means for renderingf's aid" sound suppressing, meansinactivejw lthrespect to said pedal.

" 13.'.In"a' musicalfinstrume'nt, a plurality of tuned strings'for'producing musical tones a casingiincluding substantially soundproomaterial around said strings, percussive means within the casing andmovable with respect tothe strings to cause a striking cont'actyvith thestrings, keys for initiating the striking movement'o f the percussivemeans, means to adjust said percussive means with respect to thestrings, a plurality of modulators positioned within the casing forcontrolling the voluine of musical sound emitted therefrom, a. pedaloperatively connected to impart ,movement to said modulators and to saidadjusting means and a manually controlled device for rendering saidmodulators inactive with-respect to said pedal.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New Yorkthis 4th day of May, A. D; 1925.

JOHN HAYS HAMMOND, Jn.

